7th June 2018 By Julia Penhaligon Health chiefs are considering their options for saving community beds at Helston, as the clock ticks towards a crisis which could close the local…
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There is also the issue of relying on the voluntary services to back up NHS services. Talking to a local volunteer yesterday, she is working willingly 7 days a week, on call 24 hours a day, fund raising to finance essential expenses and way over retirement age herself. She has been involved in this work for decades. I feel that the NHS is off-loading its responsibilities onto these willing volunteers. This sets a dangerous precedent as volunteers have no contracts, they ‘retire’ on illness or other commitments and they are necessarily transitory. This is no way to run a public service.